Combined Arms

The CAX Transition Center, a centrally located co-working space that is available to more than 250 government and nonprofit agencies. This space facilitates intentional “collaborative collisions” for professionals serving military and veteran families. The Transition Center is also a single point of entry from transitioning service members, veterans, and their families.

Combined Arms was selected by the state of Texas to build a network that would make Texas the first interconnected state for veterans and their families. Launched in April 2020, Combined Arms has grown the Texas Veterans Network (TVN) to include more than 250 best-in-class, vetted veteran-serving organizations and state agencies that collectively offer more than 1,100 resources for transitioning service members, veterans, and their families. Phase 1 of the TVN was completed in March 2023 with over 40,000 served.

Combined Arms was selected as the sole provider for Phase 2 of the TVN, covering all of Texas' 254 counties, which launched in April 2023. We anticipate serving an additional 34,600 unique veterans between May 2023 and April 2025, bringing the cumulative number of unique veterans served through TVN to 70,600 (4.65% of Texas’ veteran population) in just five years.

Through coordinating and conducting research with reputable academic partners to guide vision and strategy, validating shared measurement practices, and elevating the profile of our member organizations—Combined Arms Institute effectively packages the research and influence gained from expanding to new geographic markets.

Founded in 2019 and volunteer-led until late 2021, Combined Arms' SIVs & Allies Program engages veterans, SIV recipients, and other volunteers to work closely with local resettlement agencies to fill resource gaps and provide resource navigation support for recently arrived SIV holders and other wartime allies.

Combined Arms' longstanding work in support of Houston's Special Immigrant Visa holders (SIVs) and Allies population uniquely positioned us to formalize and scale our efforts to assist with the resettlement of thousands of Afghans arriving in Houston and across the state of Texas following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. In late 2021, we brought on Khalil Arab, a former Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holder and longtime CAX volunteer, as our full-time SIVs & Allies Program Manager. Since 2021, we've impacted over 2,500 recently arrived Afghans and wartime allies.

Launched in 2021, CAX's STEP (Striving Towards Equity in the Provisioning of Social Services) Initiative focuses on reaching Texas' Black and Latinx veteran populations. Beginning in 2021, we piloted a new staff role, Community Outreach Manager, in an attempt to reach more veterans of color in the Greater Houston Area. Tasked with creating partnerships and building connectivity with community-based organizations serving predominantly Black and Hispanic communities in the Greater Houston Area to build awareness of CAX and connect Black and Hispanic veterans and other military-connected individuals with CAX's platform, the Community Outreach Manager's efforts have proven successful.

Between late 2021 and mid-2022, we observed a 414% increase in the number of contacts added to the Combined Arms system who self-identify as Black and a 315% increase in the number of contacts who self-identify as Latino, as compared to the same period in the previous 12 months.

In Spring 2021, we saw a 442% increase in the number of veterans and military-connected individuals seeking food assistance. In February 2022, we began partnering with Galveston County Food Bank (GCFB) to host a monthly mobile pantry event to support veterans and military families in that area.

Due to the success of the Galveston County Veterans Mobile Food Pantries, CAX expanded the program to other regions in Texas. We now host three Mobile Veteran Food Pantries: Galveston, one in Montgomery County, and one on Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base. In total, we have served over 12,000 individuals through our three monthly Veteran Mobile Food Pantries. In mid 2023, we'll be opening a permanent food pantry onsite at the Combined Arms Transition Center located in Houston's east downtown neighborhood.